■MINING
Guinea rescinds iron deal
Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto said yesterday a concession which potentially could open a massive new iron ore field in west Africa appeared to have been rescinded. In a statement issued on Friday, Rio Tinto said it received correspondence from Guinean President Lansana Conte “purporting to rescind the Simandou Mining Concession.” A company spokeswoman said yesterday that the situation had not changed since then. Simandou is said by analysts to have potential to become one of the world’s major iron ore resources. Rio Tinto said it believed it had conformed with Guinean law and would be considering the situation.
■COMMUNICATIONS
Unions postpone strike
Verizon Communications Inc and two unions representing some 65,000 of its workers agreed to “stop the clock” on contracts that were set to expire at 12:01am yesterday. One of the unions, the Communications Workers of America (CWA), said a strike had been postponed “in light of progress that has been made” in the negotiations. The CWA, which represents about 50,000 workers, said the current contracts remain in effect as talks continue. Major bargaining issues include healthcare coverage for employees and retirees, wages and union representation for new job areas.
■REAL ESTATE
Gazit-Globe acquires Meinl
Gazit-Globe Ltd said it completed its acquisition of Meinl European Land Ltd with Citigroup Inc and renamed the third-largest Austrian property developer Atrium European Real Estate. The acquisition agreement stipulates staged investment in Meinl. Gazit-Globe, an Israeli developer of commercial real estate, said in a statement to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange yesterday that it had invested 270 million euros (US$420 million) in the first stage alongside a 230 million euro investment by Citigroup. Meinl shareholders on July 16 approved the plan by Gazit- Globe and Citigroup to buy the company.
■OIL
‘No TNK-BP shares’: Kremlin
State-owned Russian gas and oil giants Gazprom and Rosneft do not intend to buy a stake in the Russian-British oil group TNK-BP currently in the grip of a shareholder conflict, a government official said on Saturday. Questioned on the matter by Interfax news agency, Kremlin economic adviser Arkadi Dvorkovich referred to comments made by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev when he was Gazprom’s No. 2. Medvedev was quoted in June last year as saying that neither Gazprom nor Rosneft, the country’s top oil producer, had any plans to buy a share in TNK-BP. “We confirm it and think that TNK-BP has a good perspective on the Russian and global market,” Dvorkovich said.
■BANKING
ABC posts Q2 loss
Arab Banking Corp (ABC), the Bahrain-based investment bank that lost millions of dollars in US subprime-related writedowns, posted a loss in the second quarter. The net loss was US$71 million in the three months ended June 30, or US$0.06 a share, compared with net income of US$73 million, or US$0.07, in the year-earlier period, the bank said yesterday in a filing to the Bahrain Stock Exchange. The first-half loss was US$658 million. “In the face of continued deterioration in market values and uncertainties as to their ultimate recoveries, ABC decided to make a clean sweep and write-down in entirety its remaining net exposures to collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) of US$134 million,” it said in the statement.
CRITICAL MOVE: TSMC’s plan to invest another US$100 billion in US chipmaking would boost Taiwan’s competitive edge in the global market, the premier said The government would ensure that the most advanced chipmaking technology stays in Taiwan while assisting Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) in investing overseas, the Presidential Office said yesterday. The statement follows a joint announcement by the world’s largest contract chipmaker and US President Donald Trump on Monday that TSMC would invest an additional US$100 billion over the next four years to expand its semiconductor manufacturing operations in the US, which would include construction of three new chip fabrication plants, two advanced packaging facilities, and a research and development center. The government knew about the deal in advance and would assist, Presidential
‘DANGEROUS GAME’: Legislative Yuan budget cuts have already become a point of discussion for Democrats and Republicans in Washington, Elbridge Colby said Taiwan’s fall to China “would be a disaster for American interests” and Taipei must raise defense spending to deter Beijing, US President Donald Trump’s pick to lead Pentagon policy, Elbridge Colby, said on Tuesday during his US Senate confirmation hearing. The nominee for US undersecretary of defense for policy told the Armed Services Committee that Washington needs to motivate Taiwan to avoid a conflict with China and that he is “profoundly disturbed” about its perceived reluctance to raise defense spending closer to 10 percent of GDP. Colby, a China hawk who also served in the Pentagon in Trump’s first team,
SEPARATE: The MAC rebutted Beijing’s claim that Taiwan is China’s province, asserting that UN Resolution 2758 neither mentions Taiwan nor grants the PRC authority over it The “status quo” of democratic Taiwan and autocratic China not belonging to each other has long been recognized by the international community, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday in its rebuttal of Beijing’s claim that Taiwan can only be represented in the UN as “Taiwan, Province of China.” Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) yesterday at a news conference of the third session at the 14th National People’s Congress said that Taiwan can only be referred to as “Taiwan, Province of China” at the UN. Taiwan is an inseparable part of Chinese territory, which is not only history but
INVESTMENT WATCH: The US activity would not affect the firm’s investment in Taiwan, where 11 production lines would likely be completed this year, C.C. Wei said Investments by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) in the US should not be a cause for concern, but rather seen as the moment that the company and Taiwan stepped into the global spotlight, President William Lai (賴清德) told a news conference at the Presidential Office in Taipei yesterday alongside TSMC chairman and chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家). Wei and US President Donald Trump in Washington on Monday announced plans to invest US$100 billion in the US to build three advanced foundries, two packaging plants, and a research and development center, after Trump threatened to slap tariffs on chips made
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